 |
Mark Lane, left, is the first to complete DSC's new Advanced Technical
Certificate in Cybersecurity and Cyberforensics. Here, he poses with his professor, Dr. Philip Craiger. |
through the Florida College System’s workforce baccalaureate degrees. Add in the fact that he is among the first to earn Daytona State’s newly created Advanced Technical Certificate in Cybersecurity and Cyberforensics along with his Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology and Lane will tell you the effort has been one of his best personal investments.
Lane, 42, is a senior engineer for CenturyLink, the third-largest telecommunications company in the U.S. Locally, the company provides data, voice, cloud infrastructure and hosted IT solutions throughout the West Volusia and Metro-Orlando areas.
He worked a variety of technology jobs after earning his Associate of Science in Computer Engineering Technology from DSC in 1993. But finances made continuing his education prohibitive. “I wanted to continue my education, but I ran out of money, so I had to go into the workforce instead,” he said.
It wasn’t until 2011 when Lane learned that DSC had launched its Engineering Technology bachelor’s degree. At the time, he was working full time as a customer technician for CenturyLink, installing lines and setting up residential Internet services. “I was able to plug away at it, taking two, sometimes three classes a semester,” he said. “The fact that so much of the program was online made it very convenient.”
While enrolled in his bachelor’s degree classes, Lane took advantage of the college’s newly launched Advanced Technical Certificate in Cybersecurity and Cyberforensics program with classes that blended well with his bachelor’s degree. At the same time, a senior engineer position became available at CenturyLink. Since Lane was the only applicant pursuing a bachelor’s degree that matched the skill set required for the position, he was promoted.
“The fact that I was pursuing the degree and the certificate was the deciding factor,” he said.
Today, Lane works primarily with IPTV networks, using skills he acquired in his cybersecurity coursework to troubleshoot and monitor network traffic. “IPTV is all about networking,” he said. “We have to monitor where data is coming from and where it’s going within the network, and spot any potential threats such as malware or spyware.”
He said he’s happy to be in the spot he’s in at this stage of his career. “Right now, I’m finding my current position very satisfying on a personal level,” he said. “One day, I would like to get more into network planning, but right now I think I’m in a good spot.”
Daytona State’s Advanced Technical Certificate in Cyberforensics and Cybersecurity focuses on the protection and analysis of computer and network systems. The program incorporates innovative, tested methods of instruction with hands-on lab work. It’s open to students who have an associate of science, associate of applied science, associate of arts or previous bachelor of science degree.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for cybersecurity professionals will increase by 37 percent over the next eight years, with median pay for experienced professionals averaging near $86,000 annually. Cybersecurity jobs are found in business, industry, military, law enforcement, government, academia and the intelligence community.
Daytona State is the lead institution in a consortium whose goal is to advance cyberforensic education in the southeastern United States. The consortium is comprised of nine colleges from Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas operating as the Advanced Cyberforensics Education Consortium (ACE). Its work is funded by a National Science Foundation grant of more than $1.8 million over four years.
